May 10 to 16 is National Nursing Week, an annual celebration of the history, work and achievements of nurses across Canada. This year’s theme is #WeAnswerTheCall, showcasing the many roles that nurses play in their everyday work to support their patients and our community.
We have an incredible team of nurses at the Region in Public Health and in our long-term care homes working to keep our community safe and healthy. They truly go above and beyond to provide excellent programs that support residents in Halton. Their hard work, dedication and commitment over this past year has helped us get through this together, and I am so proud of their collective efforts.
Nurses on our Public Health team support our community with a wide range of services. During COVID-19, nurses and other Public Health staff have been working to keep residents safe by:
- managing cases of COVID-19;
- responding to COVID-19 inquiries from residents and community partners;
- coordinating with partners to test residents unable to access a COVID-19 assessment centre;
- working with long-term care homes, retirement homes and other settings across Halton to help prevent or contain COVID-19 outbreaks; and
- working in Halton’s COVID-19 vaccination clinics to vaccinate eligible residents in the region.
We also have many nurses working in our Regional long-term care homes, providing excellent care and supports to the older adults living at Allendale, Creek Way Village and Post Inn Village. They are caring for our most vulnerable residents, and have worked to keep them safe during the pandemic. Over the past year, staff in our long-term care homes have quickly adapted to changes both personally and professionally—from undergoing active screening on each shift, to wearing extra personal protective equipment and in some cases self-isolating from their families. These individuals are some of the heroes of our fight against COVID-19.
In 2020, we profiled a number of Regional teams as part of our #StrongerTogether campaign. One of the stories featured one of our Registered Practical Nurses who spoke of her experience on the frontline during the pandemic. I’m pleased to share her story again this year and encourage you to watch the video below:
Thank you again to all of the nurses in Halton and in Canada—your efforts have helped us get through this past year, and I can’t thank you enough for everything you do. For more information on Halton’s response to COVID-19, please visit halton.ca/COVID19.